Txurruka/Aperribai/Mayoz's OPX
OPX Stands For *Providing the greatest benefit, financial or otherwise, for its shareholders and maximising brand exposure for their sponsors *Paying lip service to corporate responsibility *Enforcing whatever human rights are left over, including but not limited to, the rights to drink thirst-quenching Levhäger Dry, eat a tasty Le Royale with Cheese from MacDunaldos, to enjoy a titillating pornographic publication and, if there's resources, to have access to free public health and education. History The OPX has a long history. Founded as the Liberal Libertarian Party in 2039, the OPX was created by the leadership of the Baltusian Human Rights Movement, an organisation based at the University of Baltusia in Lindar Valley that operated covertly under the authoritarian Napoli regime. The LLP became a political force to be reckoned with. The party's ideology revolved around the "20 Rights Manifesto" set up by early party ideologues which outlined many of the rights the new democratic government of Baltusia should enforce. This approach appealed to voters with the LLP winning its first Presidential election after only eight years of existence with then-party hero Troy Champion. In the aftermath of Jesus McMohammed's leadership and the events of the Crimson Entente, it would be twenty years after Champion's defeat before the LLP would see anything resembling the heights of the 2050s. In 2092, Saba Billong ushered in a long period of LLP domination. Despite several brief attacks from authoritarians (including the Violet Reev rebellion in 2145) and free marketeers, the LLP and its allies consistently won the elections for Praetor and secured top spot as largest party with a program of enforcing civil rights, progressive morality and free market economics with a heavy dose of quality government services. This period would continue well into the 2300s. During this time, the LLP/OP was instrumental in shaping the face of all aspects of Baltusian government, law and culture. In the mid-24th century, interest in the party waned as newer parties came to the fore, revitalising public interest in politics. Though respect for the party, both in the legislature and amongst the voting public, remained high, the OP was consigned to minor party status. In 2227, LLP leader, John Perfect, revamped the face of the party, giving it a fresher, slicker image. In doing so, he renamed the party the Orange Party. He maintained the core ideology despite concerns that the revamp was a sell-out to attract new voters and corporate lobbies' purses. The naysayers were wrong and it is in this spirit that the OPX underwent its single biggest revolution. Konev Maurice, the first official leader of the party since Ivar Davis resigned in 2439, took the initiative to recapture voter interest in the OP. In an innovative and radical move, he floated the party on the Baltusian Stock Exchange and sold off naming rights to corporate sponsors. Party politics became dependent on the decision of its shareholders at the OPX AGM and its board of directors. OPX representatives consisted almost entirely of good-looking actors who were paid to tow the corporate and party line (though it should be noted that this has largely been party convention since its founding). The OPX struggled for the first twenty years with its new identity. In the aftermath of the demise of the Revolutionary Democratic Socialists, the party filled the void in the left-wing and picked up their votes, moving their way back to the top of the Senatorial pile. With the return of the RDS, the OPX moved to more extreme fascist positions in order to steal votes, which they accomplished with varying success from the 2460s until the turn of the century. As this policy began to fail under the leadership of Elke Ravenstijn, the OPX's share price dropped dramatically. The now significantly less valuable company was bought out by an accounting firm moving into financial services, Txurruka/Aperribai/Mayoz, and delisted. TAM appointed Kolda Beloki as CEO and announced a return to the "old school of OPX thought". Over the party's five centuries of existence to 2524, it has contested 147 elections, winning 11,932 seats and receiving 1,620,396,258 votes from a possible 7,209,690,618 (~22%). Of Baltusia's 485 years of democracy, it has lived under 258 years of OPX Praetorship. The party has claimed 76 Praetorial wins from 148 elections with 18 of Baltusia's 63 Praetors, meaning only 6 of the party's leaders were not elected to Praetor. Party Names *Pre-2039: Baltusian Human Rights Movement *2039 - 2227: Liberal Libertarian Party *2227 - 2447: Orange Party *2447 - 2460: Levhäger Dry & SEX presents OPX *2460 - 2467: OPX powered by Republica Daily *2468 - 2476: OPX powered by wannabet.com *2476 - 2491: OPX sponsored by MacDunaldos *2491 - 2504: iPharm's OPX *2504 - Now: Txurruka/Aperribai/Mayoz's OPX Leaders 2040 - 2059: Troy Champion One of the founding fathers of the BHRM and the LLP, Troy Champion was the nation's first multi-term President and is considered a folk hero among die-hard OPX voters. He is known for his brash, laconic style of debate which has influenced every leader since. 2060 - 2073: Jesus McMohammed Considered highly incompetent by almost everyone, the corrupt McMohammed managed to prolong his stay as party leader by bending the rules. This act sums up his personality for most who remember his ill-fated leadership. 2073 - 2085: Chilli Nafti Chilli Nafti was an enigma. No one knew where she came from, no one knew where she went. Undoubtedly she came to the fore of the party at the wrong time as doubts surrounded the LLP's ability to lead after its silence during the Crimson Entente. 2086 - 2109: Saba Billong Originally one of the youngest leaders of the LLP, farm girl and athlete Saba Billong went on to become the longest serving of her time, along with setting the record for the longest serving Praetor. 2110 - 2125: Demetria Johansson Demteria Johansson was the subject of the first political assassination since Baltusia adopted democracy in 2039. The reasons for her death were unknown but dealt a harsh blow to a nation who loved the then-Praetor. 2125 - 2135: Filip Moore Filip Moore was rumoured to have slept his way to the top. After the assassination of Johansson (his reputed lover), then Deputy Praetor Moore was promoted to the full office. He disappeared in 2135 after being the first LLP Praetor in decades to lose an election. Reasons for his disappearance range from gambling debts to conspiracy theories involving the faking of Johansson's assassination. 2135 - 2144: Brigitte Pearce Pearce was the second LLP leader and Praetor to be assassinated. On 31 August 2144, members of the Violet Reev entered the home of Praetor and shot her, sparking the following civil war. She was otherwise known for upholding the traditions and values of party and nation. 2144 - 2158: Tanith Hadjadj 2158 - 2200: Taya Charlton Taya Charlton became the longest serving Praetor in Baltusian history, surpassing Billong's mark. His reign came over the least interesting and most stable period in democratic Baltusian history. 2201 - 2224: Jordan Capri It was inevitable that the LLP would elect a porn star to its leadership role. Jordan Capri worked her way up from Rootianville's then organised crime ridden city government into top office as leader of the nation. 2224 - 2243: John Perfect John Perfect's influence on the LLP could be felt more than two centuries later when it became the OPX. Perfect upgraded the image of the party, changed its name and, in doing so, got himself elected. 2243 - 2283: Harlow Anaclet 2284 - 2298: Atreide M'Bokma 2298 - 2322: Juanita Pierini 2323 - 2337: Kioko Jordan 2338 - 2349: Ford Munoz 2350 - 2366: Kande Varrault Kande Varrault's leadership would be where it all went wrong for the Orange Party. Through no fault of her own, Varrault saw the OP's share of the seats in the Senate plummet. An offer from the lithe sexagenarian leader to do a nude calendar to bump up votes did not secure her re-election and she resigned, leaving the OP leaderless for twenty-two years. 2367 - 2389: No leader 2390 - 2400: Ronald Rock Ronald Rock made little headway as a political leader or statesman during his tenure as head of the party. His stint as Foreign Minister and his dacking of a Liberal Party leader may be his only claims to fame. 2401 - 2421: Troy Champion XVII Troy Champion's direct descendent and namesake may be best remembered for being the last OP Praetor, a position he gained through the negotiation skills that made his antecedent so successful. He was also noted to be remarkably similar in looks and personality to his ancestor. 2422 - 2439: Ivar Davis A bland man with no discernible talents, Ivar Davis managed to make it to the top by not offending anyone. It is this lack of a personality that meant he failed to capture the public's imagination and failed to be voted into office. It was later revealed Davis had a chronic gambling problem, using party property as collateral in extremely high stakes betting on Superpolo matches. The subsequent IPO helped pave the way for his debts to be repaid. 2439 - 2447: No leader 2447 - 2471: Konev Maurice The new leader of the OPX was responsible for its transformation from an old, tired political machine into a healthy, profit-generating corporate cash cow at the expense of votes. In his first election after assuming leadership, the party's voter share plummeted. He steered the party in a new, more socialist direction in the aftermath of the Revolutionary Democratic Socialists' demise. Twenty years later, he triumphed in 2467, sweeping 117 seats in the Senate (of 300) and winning Praetorship through the first round. He won a second term in office before being ousted in 2471. He decided to retire shortly after. 2472 - 2491: Soren Almiron Almiron saw neither the highs nor lows that marked the career of predecessor Konev Maurice. He failed to win Praetorship against a united free market/liberal coalition but did steer the party to moderate success, becoming the largest single entity in the Senate twice. He died in a car crash in March 2491. He was due to retire at the end of the year. 2491 - 2504: Elke Ravenstijn Elke Ravenstijn became the first woman to lead the OPX ever and the first woman to lead the OP/OPX since Kande Varrault 125 years earlier. Ravenstijn would lead the OPX to lose its comfortable status as a power player as the continued emergence and establishment of the Elite Sinn Fein and the Revolutionary Democractic Socialists saw the OPX seat share slide. She was deposed as leader after several disastrous elections for the party. 2504 - 2523: Kolda Beloki After the disastrous leadership of Ravenstijn, the party's share price plummeted and was eventually delisted after the purchase by the accounting firm and burgeoning merchant bank, Txurruka/Aperribai/Mayoz. Kolda Beloki was appointed CEO and steered the party back to its roots as a economic-centrist, civil-progressive party. The new strategy paid off, getting the OPX narrowly to the top of the Senate once again and taking Beloki to the Praetor's Office three times. She stepped aside as CEO in 2523 with the party looking unbeatable in the next election. 2523 - 2611: Amets Ansola